I WONDER what Benjamin Franklin, one of the great societal contributors in US history would make of civic leadership in our world today? As one of the founding fathers of the US, Franklin’s imprint on his community and country reached far beyond his 80 odd years, indeed it was apt, that it was he who said ‘some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until they are 75’.

For months, even years, the recent French Presidential elections have lurked in investors’ collective subconscious, growing in menace with every poll that told us of Marine Le Pen’s creeping popularity.

Ransomware has become the threat-of-the-day for most enterprise organisations, as they struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing threat landscape and barrage of attacks from money-hungry cyber criminals and hackers.

BERTRAND Russell once said: “One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision” So, here’s a question– have you ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect? No? Well have you ever found yourself listening to someone pompously holding court and spouting complete ill-informed nonsense? You probably wondered how someone so disengaged from reality and removed from the actual facts of the matter had the brass neck to present themselves with such confidence and overwhelming self-belief, even when it was clear to the dogs in the street they were talking rubbish.

THIS month saw a huge international story which sparked widespread panic as the NHS, and many other healthcare systems across the world were hacked by a Ransomware virus which threatened to have devastating consequences.

FOR those in the world of commercial property, Grade A is a term that you’ll hear most days and, if the office or investment sector is of interest to you, it’ll be the benchmark against which you compare the majority of assets.

DONALD Trump propelled the US dollar higher with his surprise Presidential election win in November on expectations that his policy platform would deliver stronger US economic growth and thus, higher US interest rates.

I WAS delighted last week to learn that Invest NI is supporting the creation of 300 new jobs through the expansion of Pearson Plc, and I'll be happy to walk the few stairs to the floor below my office at Millennium House to personally give a very warm Northern Ireland welcome.